The present invention relates generally to the retail industry and more particularly to ticketing services in the retail industry.
An article of commerce is typically delivered from a supplier (e.g., a brand owner or vendor) to a buyer (e.g., a retailer) through a multi-stepped process which is commonly referred to in the art as the retail supply chain. Specifically, referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a simplified block diagram of one common version of the retail supply chain, the retail supply chain being identified generally by reference numeral 11. In the first step of supply chain 11, a retailer 13 places a purchase order (i.e., an order to purchase product at a specified price) with a supplier 15, the purchase order placement step being represented generally by arrow 17. In response thereto, supplier 15 instructs a manufacturing facility 19 (e.g., a factory) to manufacture the particular product for purchase in accordance with the purchase order, the instruction step being identified generally by arrow 21.
In the retail industry, articles of commerce (as well as their corresponding shipping cartons) are traditionally provided with one or more forms of identification media (also referred to herein simply as tags, tickets or labels) to communicate pertinent information relating to the articles. For example, an article of clothing is commonly provided with a permanent label, fabric label or a woven label which may inform a consumer of, among other things, the name of the manufacturer and/or instructions for washing the article. As another example, an article of clothing is commonly provided with a removable price tag which is designed for separation from the article after purchase, the removable tag informing a consumer of, among other things, the price, size and style of the article at the point-of-sale. As yet another example, a carton (or other similar type of shipping container) is often provided with an adhesive-backed label to display, inter alia, pertinent shipping information relating to the carton as well as information relating to the contents contained therein. It is to be understood that use of the terms “tags”, “tickets” and “labels” are used interchangeably herein and are meant to encompass all well-known forms of identification media.
Accordingly, it should be noted that, as part of step 21, supplier 15 may additionally instruct manufacturing facility 19 to manufacture any tickets that are to be used in conjunction with the manufactured articles, such as shipping labels, price tags, etc. (In the present patent application, references to “manufacturing” and “production” of tags, labels or tickets signify the imprinting and/or encoding of these media, not the fabrication of the media.). However, as can be appreciated, the production costs associated with the printing, sorting, packing and shipping of individual labels (e.g., labor, equipment and facilities) are often too large for a product manufacturing facility to absorb. As a result, many retail companies often out-source either a portion or all of their ticketing services to a specialist in the ticketing industry. Avery Dennison Corporation of Pasadena, Calif., is widely regarded as an innovator and pioneer in the retail ticketing services industry. TICKET EXPRESS™, which is a well-known retail ticketing service presently commercialized by Avery Dennison Corporation, utilizes a network-based ticketing system to promote efficient and accurate ticket production and management services.
As a result, if manufacturing facility 19 is not suitably equipped to meet the ticketing demands of the purchase order, the ticketing services may be alternatively directed to a ticketing service bureau 23 that specializes in retail ticketing services (e.g., Avery Dennison Corporation's TICKET EXPRESS™ retail ticketing service bureau). It is to be understood that the ticket request placed with ticketing services bureau 23 is typically placed by either supplier 15 (as represented by arrow 25 in FIG. 1), manufacturing facility 19 (as represented by arrow 26-1 in FIG. 1) or retailer 13 (as represented by arrow 26-2 in FIG. 1).
Having received the ticketing requests for the purchase order, ticketing service bureau 23 instructs an affiliated print center 26 to generate all the necessary tickets for the purchase order, the ticket generation instruction being represented generally by arrow 27. In the present example, the affiliated print center 26 is located at manufacturing facility 19. However, it is to be understood that print center 26 may alternatively be located anywhere outside of manufacturing facility 19.
Traditionally, tickets are mass-produced at an affiliated print center 26 using plate-based commercial printing presses, such as (e.g., offset printing presses, flexographic printing presses, etc.). Specifically, a plate-based commercial printing press employs one or more imaging plates (i.e., plates with a raised image provided on its outer surface) to transfer one or more layers of colored ink onto the ticket substrate in a particular pattern, whereby each imaging plate is typically designed for use with a particular color (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Together, the various imaging plates are used to transfer one or more layers of colored ink onto the ticket substrate in such a manner so as to accurately represent the desired printed ticket. Although well-known and widely used in the art, plate-based commercial printers require that each of the various imaging plates be produced during a pre-press production step which is both costly and time-consuming in nature. As a result, plate-based commercial printers are designed principally for use in conjunction with relatively large, high-speed printing runs and, as such, afford limited ticket variability.
Once printed, the manufactured tickets are then directed to the packing/shipping warehouse for manufacturing facility 19 where the tickets are affixed to the products or product cartons for sale. At this time, manufacturing facility 19 carries out its product packing process.
The packaged articles are then transferred from manufacturing facility 19 to a freight consolidator 29 for shipment, this transfer step being identified generally by arrow 31. In compliance with the purchase order, consolidator 29 then ships the packaged articles to a specified retailer distribution center 33 (e.g., a retailer warehouse) in the most efficient and economically advantageous manner, as represented generally by arrow 35 in FIG. 1. The packaged articles are then delivered from distribution center 33 to retailer 13, the delivery step being generally identified by reference numeral 37. Once received at retailer 13, the product is then displayed for sale, thereby completing the closed-loop supply chain cycle.
As noted above, TICKET EXPRESS™ is a well-known retail ticketing service bureau which utilizes a network-based ticketing system to promote efficient and accurate ticket production and management services. Although well-known and widely used in commerce, most conventional network-based retail ticketing services suffer from a notable shortcoming.
Specifically, most conventional web-based retail ticketing services only provide a client with a ticket proof prior to printing which is generic in nature (i.e., which does not incorporate the variable information of the ticket order therein). As a result, the customer is not able to review an adequate representation of the ticket to be generated as part of the order but rather is only able to review a generic graphic that is akin to an entry in a product catalog. Without having the ability to review an accurate representation of the ticket prior to the ticket printing process, the customer may become dissatisfied with the finished product which, in turn, may necessitate a reprint of the ticket order. Because the reprint of a ticket order using a plate-based printing press requires the production of a new set of imaging plates, a ticket reprint represents a considerable financial expense and, as a result, is avoided to the greatest extent possible.
Accordingly, applicant has recognized that a specific benefit can be recognized by providing customers of web-based retail ticketing services with ticket proofs which accurately represent the ultimate ticket to be generated. As a result, the customer can actively participate in the design of the ticket prior to completion of the ticket printing process, which is a principal object of the present invention.